PulsePoint May Be For Sale; Programmatic Permeation

PulsePoint may be courting buyers, according to The Deal Pipeline’s sources, with an asking price of $400 million or more. PulsePoint was created through the merger of ContextWeb and Datran Media. Its current VC backers include SpaceX, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Investor Growth Capital, Updata Partners and VantagePoint Capital. “My sense is that those companies always wanted to be and planned to be acquired," said an anonymous source. “A lot of these ad tech companies don't have recurring revenue models.” But CEO Sloan Gaon says revenues are nearing $100 million. Read on.

Programmatic Perspective

Speaking to The Drum, Rockabox chief James Booth says programmatic is not taking revenue so much as it’s permeating the market. “With each emerging area, we should recognize that often it’s programmatic entering the arena where budgets exist as much as budget shifting to programmatic,” Booth said. “Obviously if budget shifts to linear TV bought programmatically, it helps the vertical of programmatic, but the main consideration should be on the performance and return; get those elements right and the spend will follow.” Rockabox specializes in programmatic tech for rich media and video content. Read on.

Deep-Linking Cash

Branch Metrics, a deep-linking startup that works with apps like AlltheCooks, Gogobot and Personal Capital, raised $15 million on Thursday to scale its business, The Wall Street Journal reports. As users spend more time in apps – 89% of total time spent on mobile devices last year, per Nielsen – Branch and other deep-linking startups like Quixey and URX are drawing attention from developers and investors. The startup’s database contains more than 20 million links embedded in apps, a number it projects will grow to 100 million within three months. In September, Branch snagged $3 million in VC cash. Read AdExchanger’s coverage.

Green Light For Net Neutrality

Thursday’s victory for net neutrality proponents may have a silver lining for video providers like YouTube and Netflix, according to Digiday. “If I come up with a really awesome video-distribution service that runs over BitTorrent, for example, I don’t have to worry about my ISP shutting off BitTorrent in favor of Netflix,” said Jeremy Gillula, a technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “[Net neutrality] allows people to use the Internet in a very flexible way, and it’s not going to be dictated by what American ISPs think they can get the most money out of.”

Searching For Installs

Google shared plans to pilot a sponsored search results program on Google Play. “Search ads on Google Play will enable developers to drive more awareness of their apps and provide consumers new ways to discover apps that they otherwise might have missed,” Google explained in a blog post. In the weeks to come, a select number of users will begin to see ads from a small pool of advertisers who are already using Google search ads for their apps, Google added. “We’ll have more to share in the coming months about the expansion of this program as we look at the results and feedback. We believe search ads will be a useful addition to Google Play for users and developers alike.”